Gonzalez survives in five

World No.11 Fernando Gonzalez came back from the brink to advance into the fourth round of Australian Open 2010, ousting Evgeny Korolev of Kazakhstan in five sets on Friday.

Gonzalez, the 2007 finalist, needed three hours and 22 minutes to claim the 6-7(5) 6-3 1-6 6-3 6-4 victory over the 53rd-ranked Korolev in front of a boisterous Show Court 2 crowd.

The in-form Chilean came out firing in the opening set, gaining an early break to jump to a 3-1 lead. But Korolev, who upset 21st seed Tomas Berdych in the second round, quickly responded, bouncing back to level the set 3-3.

After exchanging breaks of serve, Gonzalez set up a break point at 5-5 with an impressive backhand winner down the line, but failed to capitalise as Korolev managed to hold. The set was forced to a tie-breaker, which went in favour of Korolev in just under an hour.

Gonzalez took his game up a notch in the second set, unleashing his signature forehand and producing some sneaky drop shots. In the fourth game, the 29-year-old became frustrated with a line call, but once he composed himself, he was gifted with a break after Korolev hit the ball long. Gonzalez closed out the set 6-3 with an ace.

After leveling the match one set apiece, Gonzalez’s momentum stalled in the third as Korolev snatched an early break and dashed to a 3-0 lead. Korolev, the first Kazakh man to reach the third round of a Grand Slam, breezed through the set, breaking Gonzalez twice and sealing the set with an ace in 32 minutes.

Down two sets to one, Gonzalez stepped up in the fourth, re-gathering the energy that he lost in the previous set in strolling to a 4-1 lead. He ended the set with an ace, setting up a decider.

A fiery Gonzalez now looked in control. With a vocal group of Chilean fans supporting him, Gonzalez gained a crucial break early in the deciding set to get ahead 3-1. Korolev fought with the 11th seed all the way as both players continued to deliver spectacular winners from across the court, but the Chilean proved too strong, serving out the set 6-4 in 45 minutes.

In an evenly matched encounter, Gonzalez hit a 63 winners, just one more than his younger opponent.

Gonzalez will now meet big-serving American Andy Roddick in the fourth round. The American also bounced back from a set down against Feliciano Lopez of Spain on Friday, winning 6-7(4) 6-4 6-4 7-6(3).

Current Match on Show Court 2 Show Court 2 - Men's Singles - 3rd Round Evgeny Korolev KAZ 77 3 6 3 4 Fernando Gonzalez CHI (11) 65 6 1 6 6 Match Statistics Serve Statistics